This weekend was Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashanah was earlier in the month. These two days, which are the most important Jewish holidays, seemed especially noteworthy this year with all the turmoil in the Middle East.
During Rosh Hashanah, Jason's parent's were abroad. So, Jason took it upon himself to make a delicious New Year's dinner to remind the kids of the importance of the holidays. He even made homeade Challah--which he baked perfectly!
This year, Ethan decided to particiapte in cross-country again. We were happy to hear he wanted to do this as the coach is really wonderful.
His season started off a bit rough as he had an early ankle injury. But he did his best to persevere, and after it felt better he started training hard and working to improve his times.
Last weekend, I headed down to Daly City to watch him race. He sure has changed a lot since he did this race last year! So much taller!
This past week we even got an email from his coach congratulating him on his hard work and enthusiasm. It said, "I don't often send personal parent emails with a roster of 82 kids but I couldn't not tell you how impressed I have been with Ethan this fall. He has made incredible progress as a runner and as a person! I love his passion and care for his teammate and his hard work every day is really paying off despite the ankle snafu last month. I really appreciate him and wanted you to know."
And she made him the Athlete of the Week:
This, of course, is especially meaningful in the setting of his arthritis and flat feet. Obviously there is no way he will ever be close to the fastest kid on the team (for reference-there is a sophomore who regularly runs the 3 mile races in just over 15 minutes), but how wonderful to hear that he is working hard and improving his personal times despite his physical limitations. We are proud of him!
Also since we returned, Ethan got his driver's learner's permit. There may be nothing as scary as sitting in the passenger seat with your 15 year old on their first time behind the wheel.
15.5 year olds have to pass a written test for the permit and then complete 50 hours of proctored driving--and 6 of the hourse are with an official instructor. These instructors are not cheap, for the record!
Last weekend in Sacramento gave us a better oportunity to practice--flat roads and more in the countryside without a lot of traffic--Marin is much trickier with its hills and curvy roads.
So, we will continue to practice. Wish him luck!
Well, I am woefully behind on posting, but oh well. Upon returning from our trip at the end of August, the kids pretty much immediately began school.
On the Tuesday after our return, Ethan started his sophmore year at University High School. No more Nike for his first day, ha ha, now he wears jeans! This year is the year of "Civ"--a Western Civilization history course that focuses not only on history but also art and music. It is widely known as a difficult but rewarding class at the school, and a rite of passage for all the students.
On Wednesday, Alaina started 6th grade. Though it is the same school, this year, Alaina is treated more like a middle schooler, with a locker, a PE uniform, and different classes every period. She continues to participate in band, and of course, softball after school.
They are growing up fast!
Our second week was spent in the Sexten Dolomites, which is East of the Trento Dolomites, where we spent our first week.
After our tough loop around the Odles we were in need of a proper shower and some R and R. I booked us a hotel in the valley complete with a pool—one of the few in the area. Though the pool was not heated, the high temperatures still enticed us to go in--once you went down in elevation it got hot fast!
The next morning we headed to the beautiful Lago di Braies, where we took a 3-mile, relatively flat hike around the lake. Jason and Alaina even stopped for a swim—it was hot again!
Our next two nights were in Cortina D’Ampezzo. This is the city where the Winter Olympics will be in 2026. Cortina was bustling with people and traffic. It was a very cute town though. During our full day there, the kids and I took a bike ride down the valley, which was MOSTLY paved and downhill. A nice break from hiking. Jason was unable to join because his back was hurting too much.
The following day we began our third loop, a two-night loop. This loop encompassed the famous Tre Cime de Lavaredo. While this mountain was indeed beautiful, it was really busy—for sure the most people we saw on the whole trip. To get to the start of the loop, and the Rifugio Auronzo, where we planned to stay our first night, we had to take a bus. The bus was unbelievably crowded, even though we caught the first one at 830am. We were met with similar crowds at the Rifugio Auronzo. On the hike, the people thinned a bit. We stopped for lunch at the Rifugio Locatelli—a place we had a reservation for in 2020, but I could not get into this year.
After lunch, we continued hiking until it suddenly started thundering. Soon, it was pouring. Of course, it was the one day we did not have our rain gear with us—having left it at the Rifugio at the start of the hike. We started running and hoped my dad and Marilyn would take shelter. The rain turned to hail. By the time we got back to the rifugio, we were completely soaked.
About 30 minutes later, my dad and Marilyn showed up—they had kept walking and were also drenched. Of course, about 20 minutes after that the storm passed and it was sunny again. We hung our clothes to dry and made the best of it. By late afternoon, the crowds thinned out and only the rifugio guests were left. Dinner was cafeteria style, and ok.
The next day, Dad and Marilyn decided they had enough of rifugios and called off the second night of the loop. We continued hiking towards the Rifugio Citti di Carpi. Our hike was harder than anticipated with a 2500 ft climb in one swoop. Plus it was steep and a bit slippery, so I was a bit nervous.
However, we were very much rewarded by the beauty of the rifugio. The location was idyllic and it was much more off the beaten path compared to the Auronzo. The food was also delicious, though showers cost 8 euros, so at that price, the kids and I skipped. We fell asleep and woke up to the gentle clinking of cowbells, with a beautiful sunset and sunrise over the mountains.
On our last hiking day, we took a short walk back down to our car. We then headed towards Villa Giona, a 15th-century villa in the Valpolicella wine region, east of Verona, where we planned to spend the night. The place was a very cool old building—with air conditioning—and a beautiful pool! A welcome place to relax and clean up after some tough hiking. As a bonus, they had an onsite restaurant that made delicious food—the best we had on the trip!
Our last full day, we decided to visit a local winemaker and taste some wines before heading back to Milan. When were were almost to Milan, I decided to check into our flights for the next day. I went to get the passports, and then realized I only had 2! The hotel had only given 2 back to me after checking us in. Frazzled, we called the hotel, and they very graciously sent someone in our direction with the passports so we did not need to drive all the way back. This coupled with the fact that every restaurant that we tried to stop
Overall, a really enjoyable trip. I would love to come back and explore more areas of the Dolomites—there is so much to see!
We left somewhat chaotically on a Friday night--Ethan and I had driven up from LA and furiously done laundry and repacked--and Jason and Alaina came straight off the softball field, via plane from Santa Ana. Unfortunately, we were all also sick, so it wasn't the best way to start. To make matters worse, when we arrived in Milan 15 hours later, Ethan's suitcase somehow did not make it. We were told it was in Zurich, as it had missed our flight to Frankfurt in SFO. We got to the hotel, had a quick bite, and settled in, exhausted.
The next day, we met up with my Dad and Marilynn. Jason and Dad went to get a rental car, and Ethan and I hit the streets of Milan to buy him a few essentials while waiting for his suitcase. Even though it was Sunday, we were lucky to find some open shops, so we were able to get a few items. It was, unfortunately, very hot and sticky.
Our first stop was an agriturismo that I had picked out 4 years ago, called I Vehger near Lake Garda. The place was a small, family-run affair, with decent rooms and a nice pool. Essential for the heat. We spent 2 nights there, and on the second night had dinner at the agriturismo, which was a 12+ course affair that lasted hours. The food was almost all from the farm, which was super impressive. We also took a short boat ride on the second day and checked out the town of Sirmione, which was quite picturesque, though would have been much more enjoyable had it been 15 degrees cooler!
Meanwhile, still no word about Ethan's suitcase. We decided we needed to head to a sporting goods store to buy him the essentials--for example, his hiking boots and raincoat were both in his luggage. So, we bought him a new wardrobe, and called the airline yet again, though they had no more information about his luggage. Our next stop was the Dolomites!
For our hiking trip, I planned out three "loops" during which we went from refugio to refugio. Refugios are mountain huts, some with private rooms and others with dorms, located in the mountains. They provide breakfast and dinner, and a place to sleep for the night up in the mountains. For each loop, I planned a long hike, and a shorter alternate hike each day--the shorter hikes made use of the many chairlifts, gondolas, and even buses in the area.
Our first loop was a two-night loop around Sasso Piatto/Sasso Lungo. We had to drive from Lake Garda and traffic etc made our start a little late, around 3pm.
Our overnight destination was Rifugio Sasso Piatto, about 4 miles and 700 feet of elevation ahead of us. We started out at around 7500 feet, so we definitely felt the altitude. The weather was beautiful though, and the wildflowers in full bloom. We made it to the rifugio just in time for dinner and had our first rifugio experience. The rooms were nice and clean, and the food was decent.
The next day, we split ways from my dad and Marilynn and took a longer hike to visit the Rifugio Alpe di Tires.
It was a beautiful hike, though we made it there too early for lunch, and the next rifugio, which I had planned for lunch ended up being closed. So it was a hungry hike! Our stop for the night was the Rifugio Vicenza, which was located high up in the crux of the Sasso Piatto Mountain. This place got the award for craziest place to build a rifugio. The accommodations were very basic, and although we had private rooms, the walls were very thin, so it felt more like a dorm. The food was forgettable, but the views were really incredible!! Look for the rifugio camouflaged into the rock!
Our next day, we finished loop #1 and returned to our cars.
Dad and Marilynn had a hotel for the night in the town of St. Cristina, but we were unable to find lodging for all of us, so the 4 of us re-parked, repacked, and headed up the Col Raiser Gondola for a night at the nearby Rifugio Firenze.
We found Rifugio Firenze to be much nicer than the night before...and the food much tastier as well. As a bonus, on the way, Alaina got to check out some chickens--she named one "fluffy Gary", as well as some bunnies.
Hiking loop #2 was a three-night loop around the Odles. I knew this loop was going to be a tough one, so I arranged for my Dad and Marilynn to only do part of it with us and spend the rest of the time in town. Our first leg took us along the southern edge of the mountain, past the famous Seceda which was so beautiful, and then down one mountain and up another to the Rifusio Resciesa.
Seceda Heading down from Seceda with Sasso Piatto behind
Rifugio Resciesa was the nicest of all (though the most expensive), and it even had private bathrooms in each room, and we had a beautiful sunset there!
In the morning, we hiked for a bit with Dad and Marilynn, and then parted ways. Jason had injured his back--probably too big of a hike the day before, and was reluctant to stay hiking, but in the end, he did continue. That day was a long and hot hike. We did have lunch in a great Rifugio called Malaga Brogles, complete with fresh buttermilk--which was amazingly creamy and delicious. Along the entire route we had beautiful views of the Odles mountains.
The end of our hike had about a 1000 ft elevation gain, which was challenging given Jason's back and the overall length of our day. Our reward was Malaga Alm--basically a barn where we spent the night with 14 other backpackers and no running water. We were definitely "away from it all". In the middle of the night, Alaina got up to go to the bathroom, and she said that the stars were the most beautiful she had ever seen! The hosts were lovely though and the food quite good considering the location.
The next morning to complete our loop, we had to summit over about a 2000 ft crest. It was a tough slog, though doing it first thing in the morning made it better. Look for the lowest point in the below photos--that is what we went up and over!!
Eventually, we returned to the Col Raiser Gondola and our car. As a bonus, Ethan's luggage was finally found and transferred to Dad and Marilynn's hotel while we were hiking our loop!
A great first week of hiking!
